Riveting apparatus



April 21, 1931. P. F. WOOD RIVETING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 6, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR April 21, 1931. WOOD RIVETING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1926 INVENTOR P. F. WOOD April 21, 1931.

Filed Dec. 6, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 21, 1931. P. F. WOOD RIVEfPING APPARATUS 6, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec.

A framework 6 Patented Apr. 21', 1931;

PATENT OFFICE PERCY F. WOOD, OF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA RIVETING APPARATUS Application filed December 6, 1926. Serial No. 152,928.

My invention relates to riveting apparatus, and more particularly to a buck-up device for positioning and holding the workand the rivets carried thereby, during the headingof the rivets.

In riveting large plates,such plates, properly drilled and containing rivets that are headed on one end and project through the plates, are moved between stationary and movable heading dies, the plates being held by a buck-up member, in such position that the headed end of a rivet'rests within one of the dies. The movable die is then moved toward the other die, to upsetthe other end of the rivet. This operation of positioning and holding the rivet and plates is termed bucking-up and has heretofore been performed manually, with consequent labor cost, and furthermore the task is unpleasant and results in a large labor'turn-over.

One object of my invention is to provide a riveting mechanism and bucking-up mecha nism that may be manipulated by a single operator. I 7

Another object of my invention isto provide means for more accurately maintaining the plates and rivets in position during the riveting operation.

Still another object of my invention is to simplify and improveriveting apparatus generally, and particularly thebucking-up mechup tool 15 moves the plate 12 and the preanism' ofv such apparatus.

Someof the forms which my invention may take are shown in the accompanying'drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevational View of apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, partially in elevation and partially. in section, of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 2a is a longitudinal sectional view, showing a modification of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an end elevational view, looking from'the right hand end of Fig.- 2; Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line V-V of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified form of apparatus, and Fig. 7 is a sectionalview' of a modified form of control valve. 1

supports hydraulic plunger operating mechanism which may be of any well-known suitable form. Liquid pressure for operating the plunger is admitted through an inlet pipe 7 and after pass ing through a valve chamber 8 and a cylinder (not shown) is exhausted through a pipe 9. A valve-operating lever 10 is provided for controlling flow of fluid pressure through the valve 8. A heading die 11 is reciprocated by the apparatus just referred to, and is provided in its forward end with a recess for a rivet head, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The apparatus is shown as employed for fastening plates 12 together by rivets 13, these plates being suspended from suitable supporting means (not shown), and moved so as to bring the rivets successively between the movable heading die 11 and a stationary heading die 14. \Vl1en the rivets 13 have been inserted in the holes of the plates 12 and brought into position between the dies 11 and 14, it is necessary to center and hold each rivet while its outer end is being upset. For this reason, I provide a bucking-up tool 15 that is movable toward and from the die 11, in a manner to be hereinafter described. The buck-up tool 15 normally occupies a position somewhat to the rear of that indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 by dotted lines, but not neces sarily so, far rearward as indicated in full lines. The advance movement of the buckviously formed rivet head into the recess formed in the movable die 11, and pressure is maintained on the tool, so that the rivet and the plates will not become displaced when the die 11 is advanced to force the unheaded end of the rivet into the fixed die 14 for the purpose of upsetting such end.

The die 14 and the buck-up tool 15 are sup. ported on a framework 16. The tool 15 is provided with a shank portion 17 that fits within a cylinder 23 and functions as a piston, the rear end of the shank or stem 17 being providedwith a packing ring 19 that is heldin place by a bolt 20. A pin 21 extends through the stem 17 and into a cut-out portion 22 in the wall of a cylinder 23 within which the stem 17 is reciprocated. The pin and the end walls of the slots 22 function as stops to limit the forward and rearward movements of the tool 15. A conduit 26 is secured to the rear end of the cylinder 23 and admits fluid pressure (preferably air) to the rear end of the stem 17 to force the same forwardly. The rear end of the conduit member 26 is connected to an air supply pipe 27, that is in turn connected through a valve 28 to a suitable source of fluid pressure (not shown). The valve 28 may be of the ordinary rotary type which, when turned in one direction, will admit fluid pressure to the line 27 and when turned in the opposite direction will shut oii admission of fluid thereto. 7

When fluid pressure is admitted through the pipe 27, the piston member 17 is forced forwardly, against the tension of a spring 30 whose forward end is clamped between the head of the bolt 20 and the rear end of the member 17, and whose rear end is clamped between the forward end of the conduit member 26 and the rear end of the cylinder 23.

he forward movement of the piston '17 carries the tool 15 toward the position indicated by dotted lines, from which position it will be returned by the spring 30 upon release of pressure behind the piston 17.

The cylinder 23 functions as a piston wlthin a cylinder block 31, that has a port 32 through which air may be admitted from a flexible pipe 33. Fluid, such as air, is admitted as desired, from a supply line 34 past a rotary valve 35 of suitable form, which valve may be manually operated. lVhen pressure is admitted behind the piston-cylinder 23, the piston will move forward carrying with it the piston 17 and the tool 15. The valve 35 will ordinarily be operated to set and hold the tool 15 in partially advanced position when it is not desired to impart a full stroke to the tool 15, as when a series of rivets are being "fastened in a given pair of plates. In that case it is necessary to retract the tool only a short distance, to allow a slight movement of the plates 12 away from the heading tool 11 so that such plates can be shii" ted to bring another rivet into position for heading. Then it is desired to bring another pair of plates into position for riveting, the valve 35 may be operated to release the pressure behind the piston 23. thereby permitting a compression spring 36 which is interposed between a bracket member 37 and guide sleeve 38, to move the piston back. The guide sleeve 38 is held against rearward movement on the conduit member 26 by nut 39 which has screw-threaded engagement with the rear end of said conduit. The nut 39 is adjustable along the threaded shank of the conduit member 26, to vary the tension of the spring and to regulate the length of stroke of the piston 23.

The spring 36 also serves to cushion the quick forward movement of the cylinder 23 if the plates are withdrawn while pressure is still present in the pipe 33, thus avoiding eX- cessive shocks to the apparatus.

With the pressure in the conduits 33 and 27 released, the tool will be in fully retracted position, as shown by full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, so that a new pair of plates 12 can be readilv brought into position and so that the die 14 can be more readily removed and replaced. In many cases, it will be unnecessary to operate the valve 35 over a long period of time, since the tool 15 will be retracted for a sutficient distance, merely by the operation of the valve 28, and, in many instances, the valve 35 can be conveniently dispensed with.

The reciprocating members 17 and 23 and the cylinder block 31 are slidably supported for adjustment as a unit, upon the framework 16, by means of the bracket 37 which has a depending portion 40 that has screw-' threaded engagement with a screw 41. A handle 44 is pivotally connected to the rear end of the screw 41, so that it may be raised to horizontal position and then rotated to turn the screw and thus effect longitudinal adjustment of the bracket 37 to a desired set position, where the range of movement of the tool 15 under the action of the actuating pistons will be suitably gagecl with respect.

to the dies 11 and 14.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, the valve lever 10 is connected, through a link 46, with the lower end of a main operating lever 47, that is pivoted at 48 to the framework 6, so that as the lever 47 is oscillated, flow of fluid pressure will be alternately admitted to and shut off from the valve 8, to effect actuation of the movable die 11 and thereby force the rivets 13 against the heading die 14.

Previous to the actuation of the die 11 to head a given rivet, it is necessary to have the buck-up tool 15 moved to the position indicated by dotted lines. So that this operat on can be automatically effected in properly tuned relation to the upsetting operation, and by a single operator, I provide an auxiliary operating lever 49 that is pivotally mounted upon the main lever 47. The lever 49 is connected, through a link 50, to the yalve 28, so that when the lever 49 is moved 111 a clockwise direction, the valve 28 will be opened to admit fluid pressure to the rear of the piston 17, thus advancing the tool 15 to the position indicated in dotted lines, matching up the pre-formed head of the rivet 13 with the recess in the die 11 and holding the plates against swinging movement. Continued movement of the lever 49 in a clockwise direction will cause this right hand end to engage the upper end of the main lever 47, so that the lever 47 will be turned in a clockwise dlrection to admit fluid pressure to the valve 8.

Upon movement of the lever 49 in the reverse direction, the valve 28 will be closed, to shut off the supply of air to the pipe 27 and permit exhaust therefrom, through a port 28a in a manner well known in this type of valve. Continued movement of the lever 49 will bring it into engagement with an adjustable stop 51, to thereby move the lever 47 and shut off admission of fluid pressure to the valve 8, so that both the tool 15 and the die 11 will be retracted to permit movement of the plates 12 to bring another rivet into position for heading.

In Fig. 2a I show a modification wherein a buck-up tool 15a is detachably secured to its shank 17a by a pin 52. This pin may be removed, to permit substitution of another tool such as 15, when the stem 17a is at its extreme forward position.

It will be understood that the lever control mechanism of Fig. 1 may be employed for operating various other forms of valves than those shown in the drawing, and also various forms of control devices other than valves, such as electrical switches, for ex ample.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of apparatus wherein a stationary die 14?) is mounted to each side of the buck-up tool 15?) that is carried by the piston 17?), the piston 17?) being disposed within a piston cylinder 23?), that is in turn located within a cylinder 31?), which cylinders respectively correspond to the parts 28 and 31 of Fig. 2, and are actuated in the same manner, except for the air connections to be hereinafter described. The plurality of heading dies 145 permit of a more convenientmperation of the device in cases where it is difficult to so position the plates to be riveted as to bring a given rivet opposite to a certain one of the dies 14]), it

opposite to either of the dies 1% or that separate movable dies will be provided-one opposite to each of the dies 14b.

The cylinder 31b is longitudinally adjustable by means of a handle 44?) as in the case of the cylinder 31 and handle 44 of Fig. 2, but the admission of fluid'pressure to the cylinder 23?) is from a valve such as shown in Fig. 7 that may be substituted for the throttle valve 28 shown in Fig. 1, through a conduit 27?), a valve 35?) and a conduit 33?), to a conduit 266. By this arrangement, itis possible for the buck-up tool 155 to be con-' trolled by an operator stationed at the buckup apparatus, independently of the operation of the control lever 49 of Fig. 1, in that the admission of pressure to the cylinder 31?) may be controlled by a throttle valve 58 through anindependent conduit.

The valve structure shown in Fig. 7, comprises a casing 54: having an inlet 55, from a suitable source of fluid pressure, and an outlet 56 which may lead to the operating cylinder 237) and piston 17?). A valvemember 57 is operated by-a stem 59that is connected to a 'link b that corresponds to the link 50 of Fig. 1. When the valve 57 is inopen position, fluid pressure flows through the pipes and 56 in the direction indicated by the arrows, to a cylinder such as 23 of Fig. 2. 'VVhen the stem59 is depressed, flow of fluid through the conduit 55'is cut off and a valve member 60 that is also secured to the stem 59 is moved from its seat,'to permit of exhaust from the cylinder, through the pipe 56 and exhaust ports 61,. VVhenrthe stem 59 is again moved outward, the exhaust ports Wlll be closed and communication between the conduits 55 and 56 re-established. I claim as myinvention:

1. Buck-up apparatus comprising a buckup tool, a piston like stem for said tool, a

ed and functions as a piston, means for maintaining fluid pressure in one of the cylinders to hold its contained piston member 1 advanced, and means for admitting and ex-' l hausting fluid pressure to the other cylinder independently of the said means for maintaining fluid pressure.

3. Buokup apparatus comprising a bucknp tool, a piston connected to said tool, abelng understood that a movable heading die will be so mounted that it may be brought cylinder for saidpistommeans for admitting fluidpressure to said cylinder, and pneumatic means for advancing said cylinder and maintaining the same at a point of longitudinal adjustment.

i. The combination with rivetingappara- 'tus' for operating upon arivet, of a buckup device operable to position a rivet with respect to said apparatus, the means for operating the buckup device comprising a pair of co-axially mounted pistons, means for admitting fluid pressure to said pistons independently, stop means for limiting the advance movement of one of said pistons, and stop meanscarried by the other piston and having lost motion engagement with the first-named piston of said pair for limiting movement of the pistons relative to one another.

5. The combination with riveting apparatus for operating upon a rivet, of a buck-up i device operable to position a rivet with respect to said apparatus, the means for operating the buckup device comprising a pair of co-axially mounted pistons, means for admitting fluid pressure to said pistons independently, stop means for limiting the advance movement of one of said pistons, and stop means carried by the other piston and having lost motion engagement with the firstnamed piston of said pair for limiting movement of the pistons relative to one another, one of the stop means being adjustable.

6. The combination with riveting apparatus for operating upon a rivet, of a buckup l device operable to position a rivet with respect to said apparatus, the means for operating the buckup device comprising a pair of co-axially mounted pistons, means for admitting fluid pressure to said pistons inde- 35 pendently, stop means for limiting the advance movement of one of said pistons, stop means carried by the other piston and having lost motion engagement with the firstnamed piston of said pair for limiting move- 9 ment of the pistons relative to one another,

and means for effecting adjustment of said pistons as a unit in directions axially thereof.

7 The combination with fluid-operated riveting apparatus for operating upon one end of a rivet, of a control valve therefor at the inner end of the apparatus, a fluid-operated buck-up device operable to position said end of the rivet with respect to said apparatus and located at a point beyond the outer i end of the apparatus, a control valve for the buck-up device, a lever for operating the firstnained valve, a lever pivotally mounted on the first-named lever, for operating the lastnamed valve, and a lost motion connection between said levers arranged to transmit movement from the last-named lever to the first-named lever, the said levers being 10- catied at a point adjacent to the said outer en 40 8. The combination with fluid-operated riveting apparatus for operating upon one end of a rivet, of a control valve therefor located adjacent to the inner end of the apparatus, a fluid-operated buck-up device op- 5 erable to position said end of the rivet with respect to said apparatus, and located at a point beyond the outer end of the apparatus, a control valve for the buck-up device, an operating lever having link connection with the first-named valve, an operating lever having link connection with the second named valve, the first-named lever being pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, and a lost-motion connection between said levers arranged to transmit movement from the lastnamed lever to the first-named lever.

In testimony whereof I, the said PERCY F. VVooD, have hereunto set my hand.

PERCY F. WOOD. 

